March of the Marauders
by Beatrix Bloxam
Summary: How do the Marauders ask out their dates? Fun one-shot set to the Kill Bill soundtrack. Ah, fluffiness


Fluffiness. Just... fluffiness. Fun stuff. How do the Marauders ask out their dates? Here you go. Inspired by and set to the song, "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" from Kill Bill, vol. 1. Brilliant movie. Really.  
  
Enjoy  
  
-Trinity  
  
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The halls were full of students, traveling from one class to another, or perhaps to lunch. It was hard to navigate through the crowds on the third floor- it was backpack to backpack most of the way. This was a common Thursday occurrence- something about the timing and the classes being dismissed caused a traffic jam of unusual size. Thus, no one was surprised, or even irritated, with the slow moving pack. Lily was balancing a stack of books on one leg as she opened her bag, quill stuck between her teeth, as her best friend Alice babbled about being asked to the Christmas Ball by her crush. Nodding, Lily dropped her books into her bag, ignoring the throngs of people surrounding her, and heaved her bag back over her shoulder.  
  
All at once, the atmosphere changed. By some unknown force, students were sliding to the edges of the hallway, clearing a path down the center. Lily looked up with interest- there were very few people at Hogwarts who could cause that kind of change. Alice stopped her babbling to look through the crowd, and inhaled quickly.  
  
"What?" Lily asked, quill still in mouth. Alice was several inches taller, and could therefore see the approaching people better than Lily. Before Alice could reply, the people directly in front of Lily parted, and the individuals were revealed.  
  
Marching down the hallway were the only four students at Hogwarts who could cause such a rapid change of atmosphere. They were none other than the Marauders, striding confidently down the hallway, past rows of students squashed against the walls on either side, the girls gazing longingly. James Potter, the so-called leader, cast a glance at his best friend, Sirius Black, who smiled sneakily and glanced at the third, Remus Lupin. Remus smiled, nodded, and looked past the other boys at Peter Pettigrew, who smiled nervously and smoothed his billowing cloaks.  
  
The image of the four of them was straight out of a movie, Lily thought, completely distracted. Striding down the hallway, the students parting before them, and the boys looking... well, downright handsome. And... Lily realized, all at once, that she and Alice were still standing in the middle of the hallway, while nearly everyone else had moved. 'Way to draw attention, Evans,' she thought to herself, and made to join the groups on the walls. One glance back at the boys stopped her in her tracks. James was gazing piercingly at one lucky girl- undoubtedly the one he was about to ask to the Christmas Ball. That was surely what they were doing- they had the power to cause this pandemonium wherever they went, but it was not a power they used often. Only in special events. And getting Christmas Ball dates was certainly special.  
  
Lily wondered who the lucky girl was for a short moment before noticing the focus of James' gaze. He was looking straight into her eyes. With a startled gasp, Lily remembered the quill clenched between her teeth and quickly removed it, shoving it into her bag, still dangling from her shoulder. The four Marauders continued on their self-assured march, until they were within ten feet of Lily, still standing stupidly in the middle of the hallway. With a nod, the four boys split from their unison line, and each Marauder targeted a girl amongst the throng. Sirius marched over to Alicia, a very popular Hufflepuff, while Remus targeted Amelia, of Gryffindor. Even Peter had targeted a shy and slightly chubby Hufflepuff, and was timidly asking her to go with him. Only James was still striding forward...  
  
And then he stopped, right in front of Lily. A small voice in her head shrieked 'get out of the way! You know he's going to walk right by you!' Fortunately, Lily ignored that voice, and held her ground, maintaining an interested (but not desperate) expression as she watched James.  
  
"Hello, Lily," he offered, smiling.  
  
"James," she replied simply, smiling back (but still not desperately).  
  
"Going to the Christmas Ball?" he questioned innocently, folding his arms casually.  
  
"Yes, I am," Lily replied just as innocently. "You?" James winked at her.  
  
"Wouldn't miss it." His smile faded, although his eyes maintained their twinkle. "That is... if I can find a date." Lily feigned surprise.  
  
"No date? You? What brought around this tragedy?" she questioned, with mock sympathy. James eyed her for a moment, looking slightly surprised by her wit.  
  
"Well, there's really only one girl I'm interested in going with," James explained seriously, still gazing at Lily intently. "And... well, I don't know if she has a date, or if she'll even go with me." Lily raised her eyebrows.  
  
"Well, that's very sad. I hope it works out for you," she replied sweetly, half expecting James to smile and nod before continuing on his way. Of course, he didn't.  
  
"So, do you have a date yet?" James inquired innocently. Lily felt her heart catch in her throat, but simply smiled, using an amazing amount of self-control.  
  
"No, I'm afraid I don't," Lily replied, shrugging sadly. James nodded, looking sympathetic.  
  
"Well, may I offer to take you?" he questioned causally, and anyone not listening to his words would think he had just asked her to pass the orange juice. Lily felt her heart rate accelerate, but she held back her enthusiasm.  
  
"Of course, James- you may offer all you like," she replied sweetly. James looked surprised for a moment before grinning.  
  
"Ooh, Evans... that was sharp," he replied quietly, grinning. "In that case," he continued, louder, "what you would say if I asked you to join me?" Lily looked thoughtful for a moment.  
  
"You know, I'm not sure- I wouldn't know unless you asked me," she replied, grinning mischievously. James narrowed his eyes, readjusting his arms.  
  
"You're going to make this difficult, aren't you," he murmured, leaning in towards Lily, who merely smiled. "All right," he agreed quietly. "We'll play your way." James leaned back and cocked his head to one side. "Lily, would you like to go to the ball with me?" Lily pretended to contemplate this, and barely noticed the tension that had filled the hallway, still filled with students..  
  
"Well... I'll have to check and make sure I'm free, of course..." James narrowed his eyes again, and Lily held back a laugh. "But, I believe I'm free. And... well, sure. I would like to go to the ball with you." James shook his head, a smile crossing his face.  
  
"Marvelous." James glanced over his shoulder to find that the other three Marauders had already claimed their dates, who were grinning broadly and giggling. Sirius winked before waving a hand at the rest of the Marauders. They silently regrouped and prepared to march back down the hallway. James, however, remained before Lily. Sirius looked shocked, and nodded pointedly at James. With a shake of his head, James turned back to his newly acquired prom date, and smiled charmingly.  
  
"Where are you headed, Lily?" Lily had to admit this surprised her more than anything. The Marauders considered ball dates to be dates for the night alone- not any other time, day or otherwise. And they certainly didn't walk them to class.  
  
"Charms," Lily replied, caught off-guard. James smiled and held out a hand.  
  
"May I take your books, then?" he offered, and Lily was again surprised by his actions.  
  
"If you think you can handle them," she replied coolly, and James winked at her as he took the bag from her shoulder.  
  
"I'm sure I can- it's you I'm not sure about," he retorted evenly, and Lily couldn't help but grin. With that, James turned to proceed down the still parted hallway, and Lily realized the entire school (well, those on the third floor, which was quite a few) had just witnessed their interaction. She felt her face grow warm, but determinedly kept her face from growing red. She followed James, walking alongside him down the corridor. James grinned at her, and Lily got the impression he was actually impressed- a very admirable feat indeed. She smiled back mysteriously before pushing her hair behind her shoulder. "You know," James said quietly after a moment, "you should hold a quill in you mouth more often. It's quite endearing." Lily flushed, but merely smiled back.  
  
"Glad you think so."  
  
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End file.
